Dr. Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley
- Postdoctoral Research Associate, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, Florida, U.S.A.
- Ph.D. in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 2003-2009
- Three Seas Marine Biology Program, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 2001-2002
- B.S. in Biology, Cum Laude, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, U.S.A., 1997-2001
Dr. Goodbody-Gringley received her PhD in Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University in June 2009, with the majority of her field-work conducted at BIOS. She subsequently completed a postdoctoral research position at Mote Marine Laboratory before returning to BIOS in 2011. Her research interests are the evolution of life history strategies and effects on population maintenance and dispersal capabilities of sessile marine invertebrates. Her PhD research examined larval longevity and gene flow of a brooding coral compared to a broadcasting coral in the Caribbean.
As a postdoctoral scientist, she worked on a large-scale coral restoration project in the Florida Keys. Her most recent work examined how exposure of coral larvae to oil and dispersant chemicals from the Deep Water Horizon oil spill affects settlement and survival. She is also interested in using molecular techniques, such as qPCR, to examine biochemical responses of corals to changing environmental conditions. Currently, Dr. Goodbody-Gringley teaches the summer Coral Reef Ecology and fall Marine Invertebrate Zoology courses at BIOS.
Research Interests
Invertebrate life histories and evolution, focusing primarily on scleractinian corals. Reproductive timing and its effects on larval life history; settlement success and juvenile growth in response to various environmental and biological factors, including substrate composition, grazing pressure, and anthropogenic pollutants; coral reef restoration; local and regional genetic diversity; gene flow and population connectivity of coral reefs in Bermuda and the Caribbean.
- Molecular Diagnostics of Coral Exposed to Oil and Dispersants: A Holobiont Approach to Investigate Potential Effects on the Host Corals, Symbiotic Algae, and Mucus Associated Microbial Communities (Year One Block Grant - Florida Institute of Oceanography, Role: Co-Principal Investigator)